Not Acting
by ebtwisty9
Summary: Danny and Sam have lied about their feelings for eachother for as long as they've had secrets to keep. When they're both at breaking point, a homemovie cholkfull of memories may put them over the edge...DannyxSam


**Foreword: Repost because I was experimenting and didn't revise the first time. Anyway. Have fun reading this, I had fun writing it. **

Sam burst through her front door and ran to the window. She didn't know why, the sight she knew she would see made her want to wretch, and she had just barely escaped it. Why did she bother torture herself so? But torture herself she did. She supposed it was better than cutting herself, but it sure felt just as bad.

There they were. His hand was in hers, his eyes locked with hers, his other hand gripped her other hand. Noses touched, grins faded to smiles, and lips locked. Sam felt bile rise in her throat as she watched Danny Fenton kiss _that girl_, as he had for the thirteenth time that day. She had only witnessed seven, now eight, but Tucker had been keeping track too.

_How dare he? How dare he kiss her in front of my house? Of course, what makes my house any different than under the lamppost? Or the bus-stop? Or the hallway? Or…_Sam felt her throat choke up and left the window, feeling tears fighting to slip out her eyes and mess her makeup.

Sam pushed past her mother, a plate of sugar cookies in her hand, and ignored her cries of "Sammykins? What's wrong, hunnybuns?". She ripped open the basement door and tore down the stairs, finally setting off the automatic lighting and threw herself on the couch. She let herself sob, rolling onto her back and wiping her face. She looked at her hands, covered in black eyeliner, and thought of _her_ hands, the ones that got to hold Danny's. _I hope he gives her frostbite,_ she thought bitterly.

Sniffling loudly, Sam decided she was being horribly pathetic. Danny and _that girl_ had been dating for three weeks, but since Tucker had gone to visit his grandfather four days before, Sam had lost it. She couldn't be around Danny and his girlfriend together, her jealousy got so fired, she felt like telling every secret she knew. And besides telling Danny the one thing she kept most secret, her feelings, she knew she'd let slip _Danny's_ secret, a lot more important to keep than her own hormone-driven emotions.

Danny always seemed happy when he was with his girlfriend, they always laughed and his eyes always glistened, but he was always faithful to Sam. She knew a lot more about their relationship than she cared to know, but didn't dare tell Danny.

Although hearing him rattle off their kisses, their next dates, the ghosts he'd had to secretly save her from, and the minutes spent on the phone made her want to cry, she'd be worse without it. As soon as Danny would stop telling Sam, she'd know it was too late. Of course, it was already too late for them to be anything, Danny was dating someone, for heaven's sake, but they'd loose it all. That bond that Sam held dearer than anything, she knew if Danny stopped telling her about his life with _the other girl_, they'd have nothing.

Sam shook her head and took a deep breath. _I should have gotten over him years ago. And I definitely can't like a guy with a girlfriend._ She stood up and walked over to her movie tower, trying to choose a non-alcoholic way to drown her emotions. Namely, a scream-your-head-off, kill-a-few-brain cells, horror flick. Her finger ran along the spines, nothing seeming right, until it hit a plain, white DVD case.

Scrawled in permanent marker on the side was "Sam and Friends- 7th Grade- Time Period Project". Sam took the movie out and smiled fondly at it. Since they made it in 7th grade, Danny and Tucker didn't know about Sam's wealth. The DVD (and movie itself) was rather plain but pass-offable as high quality, middle-class work.

The movie case was still white, a digital photo of the trio in 18th century attire, arm-in-arm, Tucker still sporting braces and Danny a rather large bruise on his arm. Sam chuckled as she remembered how Dash had gotten in a fight with him after Danny commented on his 'Romeo pants'. The first of many, many bruises from Dash.

Sam smiled and put the DVD in, situating her back on the couch. The crackling of Tucker's video recorder was soon masked by his music integration. Luckily for their grade, Tucker's technical skills were advanced enough that Sam never had to bother telling the truth about her funds.

Sam was quiet as the movie started, Danny and Tucker's characters speaking in their un-changed voices about the economy, sneaking in as many vocabulary words as they could in one conversation so they wouldn't have to worry about them later, until Sam rushed in. Sam, rather unchoreographed, knocked her friends over. She apologized and eyes forcibly met with Danny's.

Sam shook her head, laughing as she remembered her cries of despair at the assignment. Each group of three had a genre to work in, and they had to make a movie about the 18th century, in that genre, without using any historical figures, and yet make it as historical as possible. Sam, Danny and Tucker had, of course, received the despicable romance genre. Tucker, being their rather obnoxious cupid back then, had insisted upon Danny and Sam being the subjects of the story.

Sam watched, her eyes glistening, as the movie kept playing. Soon the three characters were friends, and heading to town market to fit in more vocabulary and history. As the acting got even pooer, Sam's phone rang. The phone spoke in a horrible, electronic voice, and told Sam it was Danny's cell phone.

After sighing, Sam picked up the phone. "Hey Danny,"

"Sam! I just dropped off Julie at her house."

"Cool,"

"She said to say hi,"

"That's great,"

"…and that your house is on fire."

"Super, Danny."

Danny audibly sighed and was silent for a moment. He realized something had Sam's attention firmly, and soon realized what it was. "Sam! Are you watching our movie?"

"What?"

"Y'know, the movie from seventh grade! Are you watching it?"

"Yeah, how'd you know?"

Danny laughed. "Tucker's voice cracks come through quite clearly."

Sam laughed and smiled. "Danny, I miss you."

"What do you mean?"

"You're always with Julie, you never have time for me…or Tuck…anymore."

"Of course I do! I'm always with you guys!"

"That's not what I mean. You're always with us, but you're never _with us_, know what I mean?"

Danny was silent for a moment. "Hey, how about I come over and watch the movie with you."

Sam frowned, shifting uncomfortably. "I dunno Danny, I-"

"Great! I'll be right over."

Sam sighed and shook her head, but couldn't help smiling. She wanted this time to herself, maybe wallow in her misery and feel like a true Goth, but she wanted Danny a lot more. She stopped the movie and made some popcorn, but it wasn't even done when she felt the room get cold.

Sam rolled her eyes. "Danny, you could have gone through the door, like a normal person."

Danny let himself reappear and laughed. "I thought we decided I wasn't normal?"

Sam lifted an eyebrow. "No, you're definitely not normal, Danny." She poured some popcorn into a bowl and carried it over to the couch. Danny sat next to her, sending unwanted chills up Sam's spine, and they restarted the movie.

Within minutes, Danny and Sam were laughing, remembering and reveling in old times. They reminisced about Sam's horror at their assigned genre, and Tucker's desire to make it into a science-fiction, no matter what the teacher said. They made comments about braces, bad haircuts, their classmates, and all the Saturday "workdays" that never got any work done.

They talked about Sam covering up her secret, Danny living without his, and Tucker trying to convince them his braces were pure silver. They talked about the difficulties in planning lunches, their old teachers, and their old jokes.

The movie went on, Jack's "cameo" moment appearing when he offered to be the ghost for them. He didn't quite fit under the bed sheet they had provided, but was wonderfully enthusiastic about it regardless. "Could you imagine how, er, 'realistic' of a ghost we could have used if we had done it now?"

"Danny, we could have done a _lot_ better if we had done it now."

"Yeah, but then we'd both have to tell our secrets."

Sam was quiet for a second, tongue massaging the inside of her mouth, until she answered. "Danny, have you told Julie yet? About your secret?"

Danny avoided Sam's eyes and shook his head. "I don't think we'll last long enough to bother telling her."

Disgustedly, Sam spat, "Why are you even dating her if you _don't think you'll last long_, Danny?"

Danny turned his head even farther, trying to avoid all chances at meeting Sam's eyes. "…It's complicated…but I don't feel so bad anymore. It turns out she was keeping something secret from me too."

"Was she cheating on you?"

Danny laughed, making Sam's heart drop. She had sincerely hoped she had- it would give Danny excellent reason to break up. "No, she wasn't. It's just…never mind."

Sam frowned and they watched the movie in awkward silence for a few moments longer until Tucker plowed them both over, their characters falling in love, causing Danny and Sam to laugh and regain conversation.

A few minutes later, Danny and Sam reached for popcorn, searching on the bottom of the empty bowl for more, their fingers finding each-other and intertwining. Sam's face flushed red as she removed her hand from Danny's; horrified that Danny would hear her heart. He must have- it was beating faster than a running horse and louder than a drum.

"Sorry," Danny apologized, with a slight smile. He took his hand out of the bowl and Sam discreetly watched him examine it. _What is he doing? Checking it for cooties?_ Sam directed her attention to the movie again, watching as she kept tucking her hair behind her ear.

_Oh great. It's this scene already, isn't it?_ Movie-Sam looked sheepishly from Movie-Danny to her hair and back again, Sam remembering she didn't completely have to act this scene. She gulped as Danny began the scene, Sam's heart racing.

"_So is it true?"_

"_Is what true?"_

"_What…what they're saying. About you. And me. That you hate me."_

"_What? Where did you hear that?"_

"_So its not true? Oh, I had hoped it wasn't true…"_

"_No, it's not true at all. The truth is…The truth is I love you. I've loved you since the first time I saw you."_

"_I… I love you too…more than you could ever imagine. I didn't think it was possible you loved me back."_

"_Oh…I don't know what to say…"_

"_Then don't say anything."_

Here it was…The big moment, the moment the entire seventh grade class had held their breath, just as Sam and Danny were now…

There they were. His hand was in hers, his eyes locked with hers, his other hand gripping her other hand. Noses touched, grins faded to smiles, and lips locked. Sam felt her heart rise in her throat as she watched Danny Fenton kiss _that girl_, as he had for the first time in their life. Danny Fenton was kissing, acting or not, he was _kissing_ Sam.

Sam swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat and spoke. "I remember filming that."

"So do I," Danny said quietly.

"I was so nervous," Sam whispered.

"So was I," Danny agreed, his eyes focusing on the screen as the seventh graders broke apart, smiling. "But I have to say, you're a better kisser than Julie."

"Back then?" Sam tore her eyes from the screen, her younger self exchanging some cheesy line with Danny. "Back then I was a good kisser?"

Danny nodded, smiling. "Your hands were cold, but your lips were warm. And soft."

Sam blushed, choosing not to tell him about her memories. "How do you remember that?"

Danny's eyes were now locked with Sam's, and he couldn't seem to look away. "I remember them all. They're kind of memorable."

"All what? Our kisses?"

Danny laughed. "Yeah. My favorites are the fake-out make-outs, though."

Sam smirked at Danny. "Those are our only ones, Danny." Suddenly, she felt very guilty. She tried to look away, but couldn't seem to. "What about Julie? Do you remember all of hers?"

Danny was a terrible liar. He had gotten better since becoming Danny Phantom, but still…wasn't very good. "Oh, yeah…of course I do."

"How many times did you kiss her today?"

Danny grimaced, scratching the back of his neck. "Er, seven?"

Sam laughed. "Try thirteen. Maybe more, if you kissed her when you dropped her off."

Danny examined Sam. "Did you count or something?"

Sam couldn't help but smile. Danny was smiling. He made her smile too much to be a proper Goth. "Something like that."

Danny managed to tear his eyes away from Sam and watched the movie again. Tucker had miraculously changed from Danny's character's best friend to a minister, and was now marrying Sam and Danny.

"Hey Sam?" Danny asked, obviously a bit uncomfortable.

"Yeah?"

"I like someone."

"No duh. That's why you're dating her."

"Sam, I like someone _else_."

Sam looked curiously at Danny. "Who?"

"Who doesn't matter. I need your help. I trust your opinion."

Sam sighed and turned back to the movie. "Fine. What about it?"

Danny shuffled uncomfortably in his seat. "Remember when I said Julie wasn't completely honest with me? Well, she's moving. She's…moving real soon. And…I didn't think we were going to have to break up this soon."

"Have you started to like her more or something? And now you're gonna get depressed? That's my job Danny," Sam told him, laughing a little.

Danny wasn't laughing. "Sam, I'm trying to be serious. Julie…well…I kind of started dating her to…to get somebody jealous."

"That's really shallow, Danny," Sam seethed.

Danny sighed. "I know. I kept telling myself I was dating her because I liked her. Because I do! She's so funny, sweet, pretty, cool..." Danny glanced at Sam and saw her eyes glazing over. Danny laughed and continued. "Anyway, as we've been dating, I realized I like her, yeah, but I like this girl more. And I thought I got over her years ago. I should have gotten over her years ago."

Sam glanced at Danny again, trying to calculate in her head what 'years' meant. Of course, Danny could be exaggerating. "Who?"

"Sam, I told you that I'm not telling you. Can I finish my problem? Thank you. So as I was dating Julie, I realized how much I like this one girl. But when Julie told me she was moving so we needed to break up, I realized I like _her_ now too."

"Well, who do you like more?"

Danny sighed. "The other girl. But I can't have either one, that's my problem. This girl…I…just can't have her. It's not an option. And I can't have Julie now, either."

"Trust me, Danny, I know how you feel…I…I've got the same problem. If I were you, I'd keep trying for the one you _really_ like. Who knows, she might even like you back."

"Is that what you're doing?"

Sam laughed. "No. But my situation's different. My guy…is more impossible to get. He's…out of the question completely and always has been. It's just a silly crush that kind of…grew up."

"If its just a crush, can you tell me who?" Danny asked, a little too eagerly.

"I will if you will," Sam lied.

Danny laughed. "Too bad, I'm not telling you mine."

"Then you don't get to hear mine." Sam was quiet for a moment. "Hey Danny? I think you got the wrong person jealous."

"What do you mean?"

"…This girl I know…you've made her really jealous by dating Julie. She goes home and cries every time she sees you too. She feels like she's going to throw up when she sees you kiss, and-"

"Has been counting the kisses?"

Sam stared at Danny. "Maybe. I don't know," she lied, "but we're both pretty sure she's….not the one you want."

Danny smiled. "Sam, you don't talk to any girls enough for them to tell you that."

Sam glared at Danny. "How do you know?"

"I'm not clueless."

Sam shook her head. "Naw, I think you are." They were quiet again as they kept watching the movie. The trio had now stepped out to conclude it, reading off a stupid little poem they wrote to cover the things they hadn't already.

"Y'know, Sam, for not wanting to do a chick-flick, you were a really good actress."

Quietly, Sam murmured, "That's because I wasn't acting half the time."

Danny snapped his attention back to Sam, trying to contain a grin. "What do you mean?"

Slowly, Sam faced Danny again, trying to control herself from blushing. "I had a bit of a crush on you in seventh grade." Sam gulped, deciding now was the best possible time to tell the truth if ever. "I still do, Danny."

Danny scanned Sam's face for any tell-tale sign of a lie. "You…do? You have a crush on me?"

Sam immediately regretted her little burst of honesty. "If you feel uncomfortable, you could just forget that…it's not like-"

"Sam." Danny said, now failing at containing his grin. "How big is your crush?"

Sam gulped, knowing she had past the point of no return. "I'm the friend I was telling you about."

"And you're the girl I'm crazy about."

Sam was now holding back tears, grinning at Danny. "Then why…how…when…" Sam shook her head, deciding she didn't need answers to questions. She just wanted to sit there…and try and comprehend…_Danny liked her_…

Sam stood up, and started pacing around the room, thinking in her head as fast as she could. Nervously, Danny stood up too. "Sam? Are you okay?"

Sam stopped and looked at Danny, her purple gaze fixating on his. "I'm more than okay, Danny. I'm just trying…to comprehend all this…I don't really believe it…you're not joking, are you? This isn't some cruel trick Tucker's behind or something, right?"

Danny shook his head, grinning. "I was going to ask the same questions, Sam. So I don't think it is."

Sam couldn't stop herself; a tear slipped down her cheek. She shivered in delight as Danny wiped it off. Quietly, Sam murmured, "Y'know Danny, those kisses we have, none of them were real."

Danny grinned. "You're right, Sam. We were always acting."

Sam took a step towards Danny, trying to contain herself. She wanted to leap out and cover him in kisses, but wouldn't let herself. "You're a very good actor."

"That's because I wasn't always acting," Danny told her, grinning.

Then there they were. His hands were in hers, his eyes locked with hers, his other hand gripped her other hand. Noses touched, grins faded to smiles, and lips locked. Sam felt her heart rise in her throat as Danny Fenton kissed _that girl_, as he did for certainly not the last time in his life.

_**-FIN**_

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